A heavily pregnant teenager is to give birth to her second child in jail after a judge said her behaviour was so wild, prison would be the most "stable" place for her newborn baby.

Natalie Harvey, 19, was already a mother at 16 but was branded "Britain's worst mum" after she brought misery to her hometown with a campaign of abuse and intimidation against shoppers and council staff.

She had already clocked up 26 convictions - several for violence - and has been issued an ASBO banning her from her regular haunts in Burnley, Lancs including a shopping centre and a public library.

Harvey is currently 31 weeks pregnant by her serial conman ex-boyfriend Wayne Kinvig, 20, who has already served jail terms for charity scams after getting cash out of unsuspecting elderly victims by claiming he was collecting for a sick little brother.

The couple split last April after she claimed he beat her up - but it is thought she had already got herself a new boyfriend.

She was to have been desperate to have the child at liberty but had not been attending all her ante-natal appointments or co-operating with social services.

At Burnley Crown Court Judge Simon Newell jailed Harvey for 12 months saying she needed "stability" and that custody would provide the best chance of the infant being born healthy and give her an opportunity to bond with it.

She is expected to give birth in Styal women's prison in Cheshire in August.

Judge Newell told her: "You have an awfully sad life and background behind you and what's vitally important, it seems to me, in the next two or three months, in your interests, in your child's interests, but more particularly in society's interests, is that there is some stability, some proper medical help and some assistance."

"Prison provides punishment and it provides a deterrent and these are the main reasons people go to prison. But, prison also has benefits.

"It can work towards rehabilitation, it can work towards improving somebody's health and it can work towards stabilisation and it seems to me in these circumstances, despite your best endeavours, that stabilisation, at least for a short period of time, ought to be put in place."

Harvey had been given her interim ASBO in November last year after police said she was "out of control" and regularly causing trouble across Burnley.

She was due to face a full ASBO hearing which would have heaad the full extent of her offending. But four days later she was given a supervision order for assaulting a woman called Ann-Marie Gornall and resisting a police officer.

She was also arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and carrying out a sexual offence.

Her latest court appearance came after she a launched a "shocking" attack on Miss Gornall a woman in a busy McDonalds restaurant. She spotted Miss Gornall in the burger bar and told her: " You' re going to get stabbed up - why have you got me done? You are going to get me sent down for this."

When Miss Gornall tried to leave, Harvey grabbed her, pulled her to the floor and kicked her repeatedly. One horrified diner shouted out to Harvey:" This is a public place" and later told police the assault was completely unprovoked, malicious and quite shocking.

Staff and customers went to assist Miss Gornall, who did not suffer any visible injuries.

Harvey who made no comment when questioned by police admitted witness intimidation.

At an earlier her barrister Tim Brennand said his client was a "product of the care system." She was fostered and placed into care at the age of three, had been moved from institution to institution and became a mother at the age of 16. She has also recently discovered her biological father had been murdered.

"There had been issues in relation to substance abuse, no stability, no job, no parental figure and no control. When I first met her, she had poor eye contact, was rebellious, had clear disregard for her social worker and seemed to resent and resist efforts being made to help and assist her.

"She behaved almost like a caged animal. Although she didn't know it, she was crying out for help and attention.

"She has exasperated just about everyone who has offered her help The citizens of Burnley are heartily weary of her but she is equally heartily weary of Burnley.

"She doesn't want to give birth in Styal. She shows the first glimmerings of maturing. This year, she is offence -free. That is a small landmark, given her record. She is really trying to put her life in some semblance of order."

During last Thursday's hearing Mr Brennand said his client had recently been approached by a celebrity magazine to give an interview about her life of crime.

He said: " It may be its a reflection of the Kardashian culture that we perhaps live in that a sad story of a girl from Burnley should make its way to the national press as it did.

"She should by rights go to prison but giving birth in custody might have a profound effect on her psychologically. All she's got are the people that she can pass off as friends and no structured support whatsoever."

He said Harvey had gone to ground after she was "assaulted" by her former partner and left him and her level and degree of co-operation with social services and the maternity unit was causing grave concern.

Mr Brennand added: "She is terrified that, having split from the child's father, that it's inevitably going to be that the child will be taken from her at birth. She is a victim, once again, of her circumstances. She is a victim of the choices she has made. She must bear some responsibility for the choices she makes in life.

"She's kept out of trouble. There's no need for this next child to be born at HMP Styal." Police have said locals have not made any complaints about Harvey since she was issued with her ASBO which bans her from using abusive or threatening behaviour, or hand gestures. Burnley Council are also seeking a "closure order" on her flat.